


Wanted Dead or Alive

by AngelWithAStory



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: ACID au, Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Family, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Living Together, M/M, On the Run, Secret Relationship, based on ACID by Emma Pass, hideouts, you should read it it's really good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-08 13:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelWithAStory/pseuds/AngelWithAStory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ACID by Emma Pass AU</p>
<p>The police organization known as REACH have taken over and they rule with more than an iron fist. LifePartners are chosen for them and straying from any rule is punishable by death, or worse.<br/>So things don't look good when Artemis and Zatanna go on the run together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wanted Dead or Alive

**Author's Note:**

> TO anyone who hasn't read ACID by Emma Pass, I highly recommend it because it's amazing.  
> basically, for anyone who hasn't read it:  
> LifePartner: arranged marriage where the government chooses your partner (always of the opposite gender - gay relations are prohibited).  
> REACH: this fic's equivalent of ACID  
> LifePartnering ceremony: 'wedding' to your LifePartner

“I think we lost them,” The blonde girl says, slowing down on the deserted street to catch her breath. A search light hit one of the buildings just further down and the black-haired woman beside her gripped her hand tightly.

“Over there!” She pointed to an abandoned building further up the street. It looked old and like it was going to collapse in on itself any day now, but it would hide them long enough for REACH to pass – or at least slow them down enough.

The blonde squeezed her partners hand and the two set off running, ducking through the window just before the light passed over it, illuminating the room. They pressed their backs against the wall under the window, praying that they weren't seen.

Minutes passed in intense silence as the light searched the street and neighbouring buildings. Their knuckles paled with the force which they were gripped each other's hand for support. For comfort – possibly in their last moments.

The search light moved on and the sounds of REACH agent's footsteps faded into the distance. The girls still didn't speak for a while, making sure they weren't going to be caught.

“Zatanna? Zee, you alright?” The blonde asked, chancing speech.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine Artemis.” Zatanna replied, looking over at Artemis. “You okay?” She asked, resting her head against the cold wall as she dragged air back into her lungs. The stitch in her side was beginning to fade.

“I'm good.” Artemis said, the corners of her mouth curving upwards. She looked back at the crystalline blue eyes of her companion and felt the familiar warmth bloom in her chest.

“Where even are we?” Zatanna asked, looking around the building. There were shelves set out in rows, but most of them had been knocked over or broken (most likely by scavengers who were running from REACH agents as well). There was nothing on the shelves, the windows were broken in and the carpet was ripped away, revealing bare floor boards.

“The sign said ' _Happy Harbour_ '.” Artemis said, catching a glimpse of a hatch on the floor across the room. “What's that?” She asked, standing up slowly, being sure to stay out of the window's view.

“A door to a cellar, maybe?” Zatanna suggested, following Artemis cautiously. Artemis carefully wrapped her hands around the handle and heaved it up.

“ _Ugh!_ It's stuck.” Artemis grunted. She dropped the handle, wiping the rust left on her palms onto her jeans.

“Here, I'll help.” Zatanna said, wrapping her hands around the handle as well. Between the both of them, the hatch creaked open and a cloud of dust rose up making them cough.

“Zee?” Artemis asked, stifling her cough as much as possible.

“Eww, gross.” Zatanna said, waving the dust away. “What is that?” She pulled a tourch out of her pocket and clicked it on carefully, shining it directly into hole.

“A tunnel.” Artemis said, crouching down beside it. “It's old. Maybe it's an escape tunnel.” She suggested, looking as far as she could.

“It could lead anywhere. Even to a REACH headquarters.” Zatanna said, reluctantly crouching as well, shining the light along the tunnel.

“Or it could lead to a safe house.” Artemis said, the tiniest glimmer of hope in her eye.

“It's too risky.” Zatanna said.

“It's either wait here for REACH to come back and find us or follow this and have a chance to be safe for a little longer.” Artemis said, resting her hand over Zatanna's. “We _can't_ keep running.”

“But we can't be caught either. I'll never see you again.” Zatanna replied, meeting Artemis' eye.

“Exactly.” Artemis said, lifting her hand to Zatanna's cheek, holding it in her palm. “I can't live without you, Zee.” She quickly kissed her, stroking her thumb across Zatanna's cheek.

“Okay, let's go. It's better than being sitting ducks, anyway.” Zatanna said, resting her forehead on Artemis'.

Artemis smiled softly and dropped down through the hatch. It was deeper than it looked. Artemis bent her knees and gripped the wall for support.

“Artemis?” Zatanna asked, looking down the hatch.

“I'm fine, just..it's deeper than it looks. Sit on the edge and I'll help you down.” Artemis instructed, wiping the dirt off the seat of her jeans. Zatanna swung her legs down, perching on the edge as instructed then froze.

“ _I hear footsteps._ ” She hissed, peering down at Artemis with wide eyes.

“Drop the torch down here and close the hatch behind us.” Artemis whispered frantically. The torch hit the ground and shone light against the wall. “ _Jump_!” Artemis urged, her hands only reaching Zatanna's thighs.

Zatanna took a deep breath and slid down, holding the hatch door. She fell down, caught just in time for her stop the hatch from crashing down. Artemis slowly lowered her to the ground, her hands around Zatanna's waist, pulling her shirt up as Zatanna's feet touched the ground.

“There's a lock on the hatch.” Zatanna said, reaching up and pulling the heavy bolt across. Artemis reached the torch just as they heard footsteps above them. They froze, clicking the torch off as silently as they could, holding each other as they listened to the foot falls directly above them.

A series of clicks sounded through the floorboards and they both bit back any sound of surprise of horror either could make.

REACH agents.

_Fuck!_

Slowly, the footsteps stopped and the unmistakable sound of a helicopter faded away again.

“It looks like we're following the tunnel.” Artemis whispered.

“I'm fine with that.” Zatanna whispered back, willing herself to calm down. Her skin was littered in goosebumps and her heart was pounding in her chest. Artemis looked at the bumps on her arms and quickly peeled her jacket off, wrapping it around Zatanna's shoulders comfortingly.

“It's okay, Zee. Let's just get going.” Artemis cooed, helping her stand up. She clicked the torch on and they followed the tunnel, grasping each other's hand for support.

Eventually, the tunnel turned sharply and opened up into a lit cavernous area. The girls stopped, looking around. There was a large flat area right before the exit of the tunnel. Further away, there was a sofa and chairs, just opposite a.... _kitchen?_

Zatanna tugged on Artemis' arm softly, nodding towards the chairs. Several other faces were looking back at them. The silence here was worse than when they were waiting for REACH to move on.

“Who are you? How'd you find this place?” A tall boy with black hair and thick muscles demanded, standing up so fast he nearly tipped his chair over.

“Conner,” A slightly smaller girl with red hair said, resting her hand on his arm. There was a short boy on her lap, curling up against the girl.

“It's okay, we're friendly.” Zatanna said, stepping up beside Artemis, holding her hands out, showing she wasn't carrying anything. “We found a tunnel while hiding from REACH agents and followed it. That's all.” She dropped her hands and Artemis's finger brushed against hers, slowly winding them together.

“Why didn't you say so? Come on in,” Another boy with black hair said, standing up. He looked like the youngest of the group. The other boy whose lap he was sitting on, looking around at the girls and gave them a smile.

“Why are you all here?” Artemis asked, turning the torch off.

“All of us are hiding from the REACH too.” The girl said. The small boy leapt off her lap and stood behind the taller boy.

“So how'd you end up in this cave?” Artemis continued, slowly looking around.

“Dick's foster dad set up this place for people who need refuge.” The girl said.

“Yeah, my dad found out the REACH killed my parents and set up the cave to keep me and Wally safe. He found Kaldur and Conner not long after and this place became an unofficial safe house.” The smallest boy said.

“The REACH killed your parents?” Zatanna repeated, gripping Artemis' hand tighter. Artemis knew she was reliving what happened to her own father and what the REACH almost did to her.

“Yeah. We were part of a travelling circus but we always disappeared before they could get to us. One time though, they were waiting for us and sabotaged the acts. I would never have made it out without Bruce.” Dick said, his blue eyes cast down. The boy (probably Wally) reached out and took his hand gently.

“What about you two? How'd you end up here?” Wally asked. He had red hair as well but had green eyes instead of amber ones like the girl.

“We....ran away before our LifePartner ceremony. Together.” Artemis said hesitantly, half-expecting the group to shout for them to get out.

“That's what I did too.” Wally admitted, breaking the silence that fell. Artemis looked at him curiously, assessing if he was being truthful. “I met Dick when he was leaving Gotham to get here and Bruce brought me here.”

“You might as well sit down, you know. Kaldur and Rockie aren't going to be back for a while.” the girl said, gesturing to the chairs. Slowly, Zatanna led Artemis over and they both sat down on the sofa, still holding each other's hand comfortingly.

“Do you want anything to drink?” The girl asked.

“Do you have any water?” Zatanna asked.

“Sure,” The girl said, walking over to the little kitchen and getting a bottle of water out of the cupboard. She passed it to Zatanna carefully.

“Thanks....” Zatanna said, silently asking for a name.

“Megan. Megan Morse.” The girl replied, giving her a small smile.

“I'm Zatanna.” Zatanna said, briefly letting go of Artemis' hand to open her bottle and took a drink.

“Artemis.” Artemis said, taking a breath. “Artemis Crock.”

“As in REACH Senior Officer Lawrence Crock?” Conner repeated, his tone losing some hostility.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Artemis said, looking down at Zatanna's hand in hers. “Can you see why I ran away yet?”

“It's okay. I know what that's like.” Conner admitted, drawing both girl's gaze to him.

“Seriously?” Artemis asked, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow.

“One of my dads is Lex Luthor.” Conner said, bitterness seeping into his voice. “I'm a Cadmus experiment that went right. _Scarily_ right. Bruce broke me out just in time.”

“What about you Megan? How did you end up here?” Zatanna asked, passing Artemis the water.

“Me and Gar are _half_ -siblings.” Megan said, scooping Gar up and holding him tight. Artemis winced internally. That meant that one of their parents had a child with someone who wasn't their LifePartner – something that was highly punishable.

“Oh, god.” Zatanna breathed.

“Our mum called my uncle. Since he's friends with Bruce, Uncle John managed to smuggle us here safely.” Megan said.

“What's your story Zatanna?” Dick asked. Zatanna's grip tightened on Artemis' hand.

“I met Artemis and my dad...found out about the two of us. He did want to see me get LifePartnered to a stranger if I'd already met the person I wanted to be with, so he started to plan for the three of us to escape. My dad knew about Artemis' dad and knew I wouldn't leave without her, so he planned for her as well. But the night before we were meant to leave, REACH agents came to our home. My dad made us leave him behind. The last time I ever saw him, an agent-” Zatanna cut herself off, taking a ragged breath. Artemis pulled her onto her lap, enclosing her arms around Zatanna tightly.

A melodic beep sounded through the cave and the other five looked up.

“That'll be Kaldur and Raquel.” Megan said, lowering Gar to the ground. Two new people walked into the cave through a hidden door, holding a several bags each. The girl was pulling a cargo trolley behind her. She had a baby sling going over her chest, which was protected by a large jacket that she struggled to unzip while pulling the trolley.

“Kaldur, did everything go okay?” Conner asked, standing up and taking the bags off them.

“It did.” Kaldur replied.

“Here, Raquel, let me help.” Megan said, rushing over to take the cargo off her. Raquel exhaled heavily and shrugged off her jacket, checking on the small child. Judging by her age and the circumstances, Artemis guessed Raquel's contraception implant had failed and she ran before they had a chance to arrest her and take the baby away.

“Hey, Kaldur, Raquel, while you were out, we made some new friends.” Dick said, gesturing to Zatanna and Artemis.

“Then you can help with the bags.” Raquel said playfully, smiling at the two of them.

Zatanna wiped her eyes one last time and the two of them walked over to help.

“How did you two find us?” Kaldur asked, curiously.

“We were hiding from REACH agents and found a tunnel and followed it.” Artemis said simply, helping Megan put the groceries in the cupboards.

“We locked it behind us though.” Zatanna added, seeing Dick's shoulders stiffen. “The agents didn't find us or the hatch.”

“If you followed the tunnel, then you must be in deep shit,” A new voice said.

“Oh, hey Roy.” Wally greeted, already opening a packet of cookies and eating them.

“How do we know we can trust them?” Roy demanded, looking to Kaldur specifically.

“If we wanted to lead the REACH to you, we would have already. Considering the fact that we're running away too, that should tell you that we want _nothing_ to do with the REACH or any of them.” Artemis defended, planting her hands on her hips.

“Artemis,” Zatanna said softly, resting her hand on her shoulder.

“What'd you do?” Roy asked.

“Reject the considered norm of being LifePartnered to someone of the opposite gender.” Artemis stated, intertwining her fingers with Zatanna's.

“Fair enough.” Roy admitted, moving past her and helping unload the boxes.

 

“You can have this room, if you want. Or separate ones if you don't want to share.” Megan said, forcing open the door. The room was bare with a large bed and a chest of draws and that was it. She flicked the light on and allowed Artemis and Zatanna to walk in.

“It's fine. Anywhere that isn't a back alley or crawling with REACH agents is more than enough.” Zatanna reassured her.

“I'm right next door with Conner and Kaldur's just across the hall if you need anything.” Megan said, turning leave the room.

“Thank you for everything,” Artemis said.

“We're all against the REACH together. We have to look out for each other.” Megan replied, closing the door behind her.

The two collapsed onto the bed, too exhausted to do anything else beyond curling up next to each other and fall asleep. Artemis pulled Zatanna close to her, burying her head in Zatanna's hair.

They were still alive.

Her father hadn't caught them.

They were _safe._

Artemis smiled and let her eyelids drop, falling into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in months.


End file.
